Ground supports for building structures and the like



Dec. 24, 1968 J. c. DASHIO 3,417,525

GROUND SUPPORTS FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- 0% J. C. DASHIO Dec. 24, 1968 GROUND SUPPORTS FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12. 1965 R m V m Dec. 24, 1968 J. c. DASHIO 3,417,525

GROUND SUPPORTS FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 12, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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Dec. 24, 1968 J. c. DASHIO GROUND SUPPORTS FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE.

Filed Nov. 12. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

INVENTOR.

BY W864... M7.

United States Patent 3,417,525 GROUND SUPPORTS FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE John C. Dashio, Gibsonia, Pa., assignor of thirty-three and one-third percent to William B. Jaspert, Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed Nov. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 507,455 2 Claims. (Cl. 52160) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to new and useful improvements in foundation supports for building walls, mounting posts or the like, more particularly to ground supports that eliminate the need for bulky concrete bases. The foundation supports are lowered into pre-formed holes in the ground and which have anchorage elements that are laterally displaceable from the longitudinal axis of said supports to be embedded in the soil around the hole.

It is an object of the invention to provide ground supports in the form of a receptacle or shell of sheet metal such as steel, which may be of cylindrical or conical shape to fit in complementary-shaped holes in the ground. The shells are provided with laterally punchedin wall portions forming locking fins intermediate the ends thereof which are wholly disposed within the shell when inserted in the ground. The fins are expanded laterally to become embedded in the ground around the periphery of the shell and leave openings in the walls for water drainage below the frost line to avoid frost damage to the structures supported thereby.

The receptacle type structure has the capacity for receiving the ground that has been removed in digging the hole for the receptacle, or the receptacle may also be filled with concrete to lock the displaced punched-out elements or for moutning the superstructure thereon. The invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the accompanying draws constituting a part hereof in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view, partially in elevation, of a ground support embodying the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 a top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 3 an enlarged detail of a punched-in body portion of the shell of FIGURE 1 with laterally disposed fins;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of the upper portion of the ground support with the building beams joined thereto;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view, partially in elevation, taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section diagrammatically illustrating the expansion of the cut-out body portions by a piston type element to embed the fins into the ground surrounding the shell;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of a conical type of ground support having the punched-in body portions like those of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical cross section, partially in elevation, of the ground support of FIGURE 7 with a conical shaped plunger for displacing the struck-in portions;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the ground support shell with the fins struck therefrom;

FIGURE 10 is a vertical cross section of the conical shell with a post connected to the top thereof;

FIGURE 11 a top plan view of the conical shell before the fins are displaced outwardly;

FIGURE 12 a side elevation, partially in section, showing the adaptation of the ground support to a fence post;

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation, partially in cross section, of a modified form of ground support having rings mounted on a split shell for expansion into the ground;

FIGURE 14 a similar view showing the use of a piston type displacement element for spreading the split shell;

FIGURE 15 a vertical cross section, partially in elevation, of the ground support of FIGURE 13 with the split body portion in its fully expanded position, taken along the line 1515 of FIGURE 16.

FIGURE 16 is a bottom end view taken on the line 1616 of FIGURE 14;

FIGURE 17 is a similar view taken along the line 17-17 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged detail of the clamping portion of the shell taken along the line Ill-18 of FIG- URE 13;

FIGURE 19 is a view in perspective of a plurality of ground supports showing its adaptation to a building structure;

FIGURE 20 is a top plan view of a corner of FIGURE 19 taken along the line 20-20, FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 a side elevational view, partially in section, taken along the line 2121, FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 22 is a View in perspective of a ground support with connections for a fence structure utilizing vertical and horizontal piping; and,

FIGURE 23 is a top plan view taken along the line 2323 of FIGURE 22.

With reference to FIGURES 1 to 6 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a shell of relatively strong metal with a wall of substantial thickness which can be seen in proportion to the dimensions of the shell which would be approximately 12" in diameter and 36" long. The shell has a tapered end or nose 2 to guide the same into a hole drilled in the ground which may be designated by the numeral 3, FIGURE 4. A plurality of longitudinally and angularly spaced, punched-in body portions 4 that come to a sharp point 5 at the free end thereof, are provided in the wall of the shell 1 with the points 5 retained within the shell to avoid interference when the shell is lowered in the hole 3, as is celarly shown in FIGURE 1. The shell is also provided with a flange 6 having holes 7 for receiving bolts 8, FIGURE 4, for mounting the beams and channels of the building structures, as will be hereinafter explained. A hole is drilled by an auger or other rotary drilling rig of substantially the size of the shell 1 and the shell is lowered in position, as shown in FIGURE 1, with the flange 6 resting on the surface 9 of the soil or ground. When in the position as shown in FIGURE 1, a displacement element in the form of a plunger 10 is lowered into the shell 1 by any suitable means, such as a hydraulic cylinder and piston, or by mechanically operated leverage through gears or the like. The plunger 10 is provided with a chamfered face 11 that engages the inwardly inclined faces 12 of the punched-in elements 4 and displaces them so that the points 5 move laterally through the openings 4a that are created when the members 4 are punched in. The tip 5 on the end of the fin portion 5a is displaced laterally in the ground and becomes embedded therein to securely hold the shell 1 in place. The earth that had been removed from the ground when the hole 3 was drilled can then be put back inside of the shell or concrete may be poured in the shell. While the soil that is tamped back into the shell would prevent lateral displacement of the punched-in elements 4 and the fins 5a, concrete would lock them in place, if such a ground support is used where a pull-up tension is possible.

As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, a cover plate 13 may be mounted on the flange 6 and structural steel members 14 may be secured to the cover plate as by Welding shown at 15. The plates 13 may be bolted, as shown at 16.

3 Wooden beams 39 may be clamped between the webs of the channel members as shown in FIGURE 21.

In FIGURES 7 through 12, the same expansible type of ground support is shown in a conical shaped shell 17 having a flange 18, a point 19, and punched-in finger-like elements 20 having fins 21 with points 22. These ground supports are lowered in a tapered hole formed by a tapered auger and a tapered plunger 23 presses the fingerlike elements outward to force the fins 21 laterally into the ground surrounding the shell, the fully expanded fins being shown in FIGURE and FIGURE 12. After the fins are displaced laterally, the conical plunger 23 is removed and the inner shell is filled with earth, the previously removed soil, or concrete as desired. In FIGURE 12, the fence post 24 is mounted on a cover plate 25 having a threaded boss 26 for receiving the threaded end of the post 24. The fence 27 is mounted on the post 24 in the usual manner, as shown.

Still another modified form of ground support is shown in FIGURES 13 to 18 of the drawing and consists of a conical shaped shell 30 for lowering into a cylindrical shaped hole and the shells are provided with expansion slots, as shown at 31, there being four such slots, as shown in FIGURE 17. Welded on the outer wall of the shell 30 are disc-shaped fins 32 which may be of the same or different diameter, they being shown of substantially the same diameter as the hole in FIGURE 13 of the drawing. At the top portion of the shell 30, where the taper meets the cylindrical body portion 33, the expansible portions are notched, as shown at 34 FIGURE 15, to permit expansion of the members 30 in response to a piston type plunger 35 being lowered into the shell, as shown in FIGURE 14. The plunger shapes the member 30 from a conical to a cylindrical design and at the same time, the disc-shaped fins 32 are laterally displaced into the soil, as shown in FIGURES 14 and 15. A locking disc 35a is loosely placed below plunger 35 and locks the shell 30 in expanded position at the bottom of the shell, as shown in FIGURE 15. The disc-shaped fins may be Welded to the body portion 30 of the shell, as shown at 36, FIGURE 14. FIGURE shows the disc-finned shell in place with the plunger removed and like the other supports, it can be filled with the soil that was removed to make the hole, or it could be filled with concrete. The usual flange 37 having holes 38 for receiving bolts is provided.

FIGURES 19 to 23 show the adaptation of the ground supports for supporting building beams designated by the numeral 39, FIGURE 19, or fence elements 40, as shown in FIGURE 22. As shown in FIGURE 20, the beam elements 39 can be secured by bolts 41 to angle members 42 and 43 and the vertical pipe element 44 of FIGURE 22 can be secured by a clamp 45 that is welded, as shown at 46, to the cover plate 47 that is bolted to the flange 48 of the ground support shell.

The advantages of the above-described ground anchorages are as follows:

They can be employed for light building structures such as small cottages, garages, warehouses, etc., and for fencing and building partition Walls. The anchors could be made of any size, and particularly of substantial length to avoid any displacement by any forces acting upon the structure that they support. They can, of course, be placed sufficiently down into the ground to get away from any weather conditions. It is estimated that a small supporting shell 12" by 36" would be the equivalent of a solid concrete block 36" by 36 and while the block displaces all of the earth removed, the supporting shell requires but a fraction of such soil removal and most of it is put back in the shell when it is in place. This effects a substantial saving in putting up light structures. Also, the supporting shells, if necessary for expanding or remodeling buildings, can be removed while the concrete would be expensive to remove.

Another advantage of the ground supports is that the building construction could be pursued at once when the supports have been put in place, whereas a contractor would have to wait several days to get the concrete set where concrete supports are employed.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been herein illustrated and described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim:

1. A foundation support for superstructures such as building walls, supporting columns and the like comprising a hollow inverted conical-shaped body adapted to be lowered into a preformed hole in the ground, said body being provided on the exterior thereof with a plurality of longitudinally spaced, arcuate locking fins extending radially from said body generally perpendicular to the axis thereof, said body being formed with a plurality of longitudinal slots extending a substantial portion of its length to permit radial expansion of the slotted portion of said body to effect imbedding of said fins in the ground surrounding said body thereby anchoring said body therein, said body having means provided at the top thereof and exposed at ground level when said body is imbedded for receiving related mounting means for mounting such superstructure to said support, and locking disc means adapted, when said fins are imbedded, to be lowered in said body to a region adjacent the lower end thereof for locking said body in its radially expanded position.

2. The support of claim 1 wherein said fins increase in radial dimension proportionately to the downward conical taper of said body, the diameter of said body in the unslotted, upper portion thereof thereby being substantially the same as the overall diameter of the several longitudinally spaced fins thereby effecting greater ground penetration of the lowermost fins.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 461,753 10/1891 Hall 52-160 1,112,557 10/1914 Read -83 1,982,687 12/1934 OBrien 52-160 2,023,452 12/1935 Voegeli 52-704 2,889,614 6/1959 Seely 52-704 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JAMES L. RIDGILL, IR., Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

